The 14-year-old boy found dead with a gunshot to his head in an East Los Angeles alley had been handling a loaded handgun and unintentionally shot himself, a sheriff’s deputy said Monday

The boy was at first identified only as “a documented member of a local street gang” by sheriff’s deputies.

The shooting was reported at 6:10 p.m. Saturday in an alley off the 3500 block of Cesar Chavez Avenue, Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Deputies dispatched to the scene found the boy lying in an alley south of Cesar Chavez Avenue. Paramedics rushed him to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, said Deputy Crystal Hernandez of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

It was not known yet how or where the teenager got possession of the handgun.

Sheriff’s homicide detectives asked anyone with any information regarding the shooting to call them at (323) 890-5500.